october-2011

terrace, except that instead of the lights being dimmed for
atmospheric eff ect, they’re on full throttle to spotlight the
photographic works that are incongruously but compellingly
displayed throughout the living room of the apartment: either
perched on a bookcase, hanging on wires from a wooden
beam or laid out on an easel.
Manoeuvering between them in a bright yellow T-shirt
is artist Rémi Chapeaublanc. This marks the gregarious
27-year-old’s second stint with Expos à La Maison, and it shows
in the way he easily engages with the 20 or so guests, patiently
and enthusiastically explaining his works. All are part of a
series of diptych portraits, dubbed Tourist, that the freelance
photographer took during a three-month wander through Nepal.
“The idea behind this series was to remind viewers of
the way that they unconsciously deal with people when
encountering them. The fi rst image,” he says, pointing to
the photo on the right of the diptych, “always represents the
person when I initially meet them, in their environment and
with the element of surprise that can arise because you
control nothing. The second image on the left is posed and
worked on so that the same subject is ready to be confronted
with the viewer. Oft en this picture is taken at their place in
a darkened room, where I blind them with a camping torch.
It represents the sometimes awkward interrogation stage
that occurs when we fi rst meet people.”
“Encounters”, “confrontation” and “surprise”
are also buzzwords used by
Sellah and Chris Alidor –
the brother and sister team
who head the FROM PARIS
collective – when explaining
the motivation behind the
Expos à La Maison project,
born out of a belief that
70 metropolitan
“Instead of people
watching bad TV, we
thought we’d offer them
free culture at home”
many Parisians feel cut off from the art world. Above: Sellah
and Chris Alidor
“Culture can be expensive in Paris, people don’t
the sister and
go out any more,” affi rms Chris, 29, “so instead brother behind
of having people lolling on their sofa watching
the FROM
PARIS collective
bad TV we thought we’d off er them some free
culture at home.”
Ci-dessus :
“This is an opportunity to live culture and Sellah and Chris
Alidor, la sœur
render it more convivial through chance
et le frère de
encounters between the artist and the host, as l’association
well as the artist and the invited guests. These FROM PARIS
nights are also fi lmed and posted on our website
so that the experience can be shared with as
many people as possible,” chimes aspiring singer Sellah.
Trained as an art mediator, she carefully selects the artist
and apartment resident for each edition. Yet they don’t meet
until the night of the event, adding a deliberate element of
surprise: “I work as graphic designer in advertising,” says
Chris, “so I wanted to fi nd the best way of getting people
buzzing about the event, while ensuring that everyone invited
actually comes. So we post a teaser about the event on our
website but the host only discovers the artist at the last
moment, and it’s the same for the artist and the apartment.”
“There’s real risk-taking involved for both parties as the
artist is out of his usual environment, the host opens up his
home to the unknown and they confront each other,” says
Sellah. “Although obviously
we avoid including works
that might shock the host’s
sensibilities”, she laughs.
Ben Magnien certainly
seems taken with the
experience: “Most of the
friends I invited tonight
aren’t the type to go to